Start passing the sombrero*, y’all. I think you’re gonna need a big one.
* A tip of the hat toAdventure Journal, which agrees with me that “if Toyota was fun and not merely practical, they’d put this sucker into a production run.”
It looks to me like they made it a little too cool and not enough practical. I would have kicked the ass end out another eighteen inches. Hard to believe that you would drag the back, even with an extension, unless you were doing something really stupid.
And they’re mimicking the full hardtop Chinook Newport, not the pop-top version like the 1978 model I owned for a brief, painful, and expensive period. Going with a pop-top would resolve some issues, like weight, wind resistance, and whether the sumbitch can fit in the garage.
Actually, something like that earlier one with a poptop suits me. Maybe hacksaw off a foot of it but the nice part about the extension is that you don’t have someone taking a crap right next to the cookstove. In other words, you don’t have to shit where you eat.
Remember when Toyota trucks looked like this? Bench seat, 5-speed stick, manual locking hubs, solid front axle, not at all like something the Empire might field in a “Star Wars” flick.
My ’96 Tacoma was nice. V6, 5 spd manual, 4×4 so it was fine in the winter. Sorry I sold it but on the other hand, it wasn’t getting used very much once we moved to The Beeg City. In fact my current car sits there six days out of seven.
I miss my 1983 longbeds. Basic transportation. Decent fuel economy, OK power, reliable as the sunrise. With a camper shell they were long enough for a 6-footer to kip in the bed with his toys.
I drove the 2WD SR5 model all over the western United States, nearly 300,000 miles, and as far as I know it’s still on the road. Sold it to my mechanic, who sold it to some young fella needed a cheap work truck. It was basically a car with a box on the back.
The 4WD edition logged nearly as many miles. Even drove it to Vegas once for Interbike. That was a bumpy ride, with the bench seat and solid front axle. Mostly I bounced it around Weirdcliffe when the weather got ugly, or if Hal and I were fetching firewood down some steep jeep trail. The mechanic got that one too.
This’n is kinda cute. Also from Adventure Journal, which like me seems to have an obsession with obscure mini-camper rigs. Like the root-beer Toy Chinook there’s a lot of hands-on modifications in this one.
There’s an old VW Rialta RV up the street and around the corner. Those beasties look all retro space-age an’ shit, like something a billionaire might launch into orbit.
I had one of the first US 4wd Toyota vans that I thought I would have forever. Thought wrong. Sumbitch rusted out so fast we wondered if they coated the underside with some corrosion inducing agent before it left Japan. Had tranny issues, cooling and heating issues and it was simply scary as hell when NOT in 4wd mode on snow or ice.Having the engine sort of next to you versus in front of you was bizarre too. I wish they had built it like they did their old Land Cruisers which did last almost forever and mostly all had manual shift. I didn’t even get 100K miles out of it before dumping it. Yet I know a guy who got 400K out of a pair of them out west. His rusted horribly too but damn, at least they ran and then some.
I still see an old Toy van from time to time. Not often. More frequently I see the old Previa, which I guess like the van was either awesome or not so much.
The coneheads keep overthinking these modern rigs. I don’t need a home away from home. What I need is something about like that 1978 Toyota Chinook pop-top, with 5-speed manual, 4WD, and a proper engine to get you up the hills. With the top up you can move around in comfort out in the boonies, and with it down you can stealth camp in just about any old metro-area parking lot.
Don’t need a fridge, stove, microwave, TV, or crapper. I have an Igloo, Coleman two-burner, laptop, and a collapsible shovel with a roll of TP on the handle. Gimme some stout insulation, maybe a propane heater, and a table and seats that convert into a bed, and I’m good to go.
Incidentally, I saw a beautifully restored FJ40 Land Cruiser the other day. Drool, slobber, etc.
Says Herself to the Search and Rescue posse, “My husband left camp 4 hours ago and hasn’t come back. I’m afraid he’s lost or injured.” Posse member says, “Did he take any survival equipment?” Herself responds, “ He has a shovel and a roll of toilet paper.”
That’s what Sandy was going to say when I got a little “lost” at our elk scouting camp. I got back after an hour of walking in circles.
Mad Blog Media 
October 26, 2021 at 3:52 pm |
It looks to me like they made it a little too cool and not enough practical. I would have kicked the ass end out another eighteen inches. Hard to believe that you would drag the back, even with an extension, unless you were doing something really stupid.
Otherwise, yep, I want one too!
October 26, 2021 at 3:58 pm |
And they’re mimicking the full hardtop Chinook Newport, not the pop-top version like the 1978 model I owned for a brief, painful, and expensive period. Going with a pop-top would resolve some issues, like weight, wind resistance, and whether the sumbitch can fit in the garage.
October 26, 2021 at 4:12 pm |
Actually, something like that earlier one with a poptop suits me. Maybe hacksaw off a foot of it but the nice part about the extension is that you don’t have someone taking a crap right next to the cookstove. In other words, you don’t have to shit where you eat.
October 26, 2021 at 4:27 pm |
This is the one I worshiped when I was hunting for mine. Married the pop-top Chinook camper to a 4WD Toy truck. Woof.
October 26, 2021 at 8:21 pm |
Yep. Nice.
October 26, 2021 at 11:00 pm |
Yeah ok. Another old design remake. Only the latest version will cost more than your third house.
No, if I’m going to spend money like that, I’ll just go for a true utility vehicle like this:
https://bend.craigslist.org/rvs/d/bend-2017-mitsubishi-fuso-fg14/7389349395.html
October 27, 2021 at 6:38 am |
Well, jump high or stay home, sez I. Let’s us’ns go straight to the Mercedes-Ziegler Adventure Mog Home.
Remember when Toyota trucks looked like this? Bench seat, 5-speed stick, manual locking hubs, solid front axle, not at all like something the Empire might field in a “Star Wars” flick.
October 27, 2021 at 7:41 am |
My ’96 Tacoma was nice. V6, 5 spd manual, 4×4 so it was fine in the winter. Sorry I sold it but on the other hand, it wasn’t getting used very much once we moved to The Beeg City. In fact my current car sits there six days out of seven.
October 27, 2021 at 8:03 am |
I miss my 1983 longbeds. Basic transportation. Decent fuel economy, OK power, reliable as the sunrise. With a camper shell they were long enough for a 6-footer to kip in the bed with his toys.
I drove the 2WD SR5 model all over the western United States, nearly 300,000 miles, and as far as I know it’s still on the road. Sold it to my mechanic, who sold it to some young fella needed a cheap work truck. It was basically a car with a box on the back.
The 4WD edition logged nearly as many miles. Even drove it to Vegas once for Interbike. That was a bumpy ride, with the bench seat and solid front axle. Mostly I bounced it around Weirdcliffe when the weather got ugly, or if Hal and I were fetching firewood down some steep jeep trail. The mechanic got that one too.
October 27, 2021 at 5:38 am |
This would be cool if it was a hybrid or an all electric vehicle. V6? Nah.
October 27, 2021 at 6:35 am |
This’n is kinda cute. Also from Adventure Journal, which like me seems to have an obsession with obscure mini-camper rigs. Like the root-beer Toy Chinook there’s a lot of hands-on modifications in this one.
There’s an old VW Rialta RV up the street and around the corner. Those beasties look all retro space-age an’ shit, like something a billionaire might launch into orbit.
October 27, 2021 at 9:11 am |
I had one of the first US 4wd Toyota vans that I thought I would have forever. Thought wrong. Sumbitch rusted out so fast we wondered if they coated the underside with some corrosion inducing agent before it left Japan. Had tranny issues, cooling and heating issues and it was simply scary as hell when NOT in 4wd mode on snow or ice.Having the engine sort of next to you versus in front of you was bizarre too. I wish they had built it like they did their old Land Cruisers which did last almost forever and mostly all had manual shift. I didn’t even get 100K miles out of it before dumping it. Yet I know a guy who got 400K out of a pair of them out west. His rusted horribly too but damn, at least they ran and then some.
October 27, 2021 at 9:28 am |
I still see an old Toy van from time to time. Not often. More frequently I see the old Previa, which I guess like the van was either awesome or not so much.
The coneheads keep overthinking these modern rigs. I don’t need a home away from home. What I need is something about like that 1978 Toyota Chinook pop-top, with 5-speed manual, 4WD, and a proper engine to get you up the hills. With the top up you can move around in comfort out in the boonies, and with it down you can stealth camp in just about any old metro-area parking lot.
Don’t need a fridge, stove, microwave, TV, or crapper. I have an Igloo, Coleman two-burner, laptop, and a collapsible shovel with a roll of TP on the handle. Gimme some stout insulation, maybe a propane heater, and a table and seats that convert into a bed, and I’m good to go.
Incidentally, I saw a beautifully restored FJ40 Land Cruiser the other day. Drool, slobber, etc.
October 27, 2021 at 9:49 am |
Says Herself to the Search and Rescue posse, “My husband left camp 4 hours ago and hasn’t come back. I’m afraid he’s lost or injured.” Posse member says, “Did he take any survival equipment?” Herself responds, “ He has a shovel and a roll of toilet paper.”
That’s what Sandy was going to say when I got a little “lost” at our elk scouting camp. I got back after an hour of walking in circles.
October 27, 2021 at 10:00 am |
Sheeyit. I’ve been known to get lost in our house. But at least we have three toilets here.